Unconditional
by lissaliv
Summary: Trouble has always found Meredith Grey. As hard as she's tried to let people in and pull her life back together, there's always been that voice in her head reminding her that it's only a matter of time until the next thing blows up - figuratively or literally. Can she finally let herself believe that happiness can be a part of her life? Picks up where Season 15 left off.
1. With a Little Help from My Friends

Heads turned in the front lobby of the Seattle jail at the sound of high heeled shoes moving swiftly across the floor. A very poised woman approached the desk, clad in a long coat, sunglasses, and with her hair swept up into a knot at the nape of her neck. Both her confidence and her attire made her seem out of place in the small, city-operated jail. She slid her sunglasses off her face and retrieved a leather-bound checkbook from her pocket.

"How much to post bail for Grey, Webber, and Karev?" the woman asked the guard.

The guard laughed. This woman may look like she had damn near everything, but the three doctors who had come in the evening before were not going to be let out on bail cheap.

"If the check bounces you'll be fined quite a bit."

"I don't think you know who I am. I'm good for it." the woman assured him. "Now how much?"

After a few more choice words were exchanged and a check had been written with a handful of zeros on it, the guard signaled his colleague to go and retrieve the trio of doctors.

The woman looked around the room and opted not to sit. Instead she floated a few feet away from the desk, which is where her companions soon joined her.

**======== TWENTY-FOUR HOURS EARLIER ========**

Cristina Yang was not easily surprised. She had been the top of her class at Stanford and was the most observant and logical person she knew. Despite the many nights where she and Meredith Grey had joked about bailing each other out of jail, she would never have anticipated the welcome she got from her fellow when she exited an emergency surgery at 5:30 AM.

"Dr. Yang, you received four calls from a Dr. Andrew DeLuca in Seattle. I hope I wasn't too presumptuous, but I've packed your bags and booked us a pair of one-way tickets to Sea-Tac."

Cristina's eyes narrowed. "Dr. Ross. I trust you have a good explanation as to why we're up and leaving this hospital with very little notice?"

Shane handed Cristina a bottle of water and a stack of charts to review on their way out. "Sign these, get changed, and then I'll tell you." he told her.

Cristina sighed, but did as she was told. She handed off the files to their secretary before entering the town car that Shane had arranged.

Shane loaded their bags in the back of the car, then entered the car and poured Cristina a glass of red wine.

"Wine? Shane, what's going on?"

"You should probably hear this from someone else. Call back the last number your phone called."

Cristina went into her call history and called back the Seattle number that showed up at the top, she held her phone out on speaker between Shane and herself.

"Dr. Ross?" a young man answered. There was a sense of urgency evident in his voice.

"This is Dr. Cristina Yang. I'm here with Dr. Ross."

"Dr. DeLuca," Shane chimed in. "Dr. Yang and I are on our way to the airport. I haven't told her why we're leaving yet. I figured that might be best coming from someone who can answer her questions."

Andrew DeLuca began to explain the events of the last few days and found himself rather taken aback by Cristina's reaction.

Cristina couldn't stop laughing. Meredith Grey getting herself into an insurance fraud situation was one thing, but Alex Karev and Richard Webber getting tangled up in it with her was another. She just couldn't help but be amused.

"Dr. Yang?" Dr. DeLuca asked after a minute.

"Cristina!" Shane hissed, placing a hand on her thigh.

"I'm sorry. It's just rather… well… just wait until I get to Seattle, Dr. DeLuca. I'm sure I have so many stories you haven't heard yet."

**======== BACK IN SEATTLE ========**

Cristina stood stoically between Shane and Dr. DeLuca while waiting for her friends. They'd only shared a few brief exchanges since her arrival in Seattle, but Cristina could already see what Meredith saw in the young man. He was strong, confident, just arrogant enough to pique her interest, and his hair was straight off the head of Derek Shepherd. In fact, Andrew DeLuca reminded Cristina very much of a younger version of herself mixed with all the parts she hadn't hated about Derek. While she was definitely going to give Mer hell about dating a resident, she couldn't say she didn't approve of her choice.

Cristina's emotionless facade broke the instant she saw Meredith Grey's familiar face emerge from behind the door by the front desk. The two ran into each other's arms so quickly they almost fell over.

"Insurance fraud?" Cristina asked as they parted just enough to face each other, while still caught up in their embrace. "I fly halfway across the world to bail you out for something as boring as insurance fraud?"

"Shut up!" Meredith exclaimed. "I can't believe you're here!"

Cristina and Meredith squealed and held each other tighter again. They only parted when they heard the familiar cough of Richard Webber clearing his throat.

"Sir." Cristina greeted him, standing up straight and returning to the calm, collected woman who had initially walked into the jail.

"Good to see you Dr. Yang." he responded with a small smile on his face. The two exchanged a brief nod which said everything else that needed to be said.

"Are you two done squealing? It's too weird." a fourth voice entered the reunion.

Cristina smiled warmly at Alex. "I missed you too, Evil Spawn."

As Cristina exchanged words with Alex and Richard, they all couldn't help but watch another reunion out of the corners of their eyes.

As soon as Cristina had shifted her attention to Richard, Meredith made her way into the waiting arms of Andrew DeLuca.

"Andrew." she said softly, so only he could hear.

Andrew placed a finger to her lips and gave her a look that said they'd talk later when they were alone. Once he was satisfied that she understood, he replaced his finger with his lips, telling Meredith how happy he was to have her back in his arms through his kiss.

"So how serious is this?" Cristina asked Alex.

"He told her he loves her." Alex explained. "And from the looks of it, she's done freaking out about it."

Richard just watched silently as the girl he loved as much as his own daughter, who had grown into a full-fledged adult, rested her head on the shoulder of the man he hoped she could let herself truly love. DeLuca was good for her, and with the lawsuit that was soon to be headed their way, she was going to need someone like him in her corner.


	2. A Hard Day's Night

Andrew anxiously drove his girlfriend's SUV through the city of Seattle with her best friend in the seat next to him.

There were very few words exchanged on the drive from the airport to the jail, and when they entered the building Cristina had marched right on up to the desk, leaving Shane and Andrew watching from the sidelines. Andrew had offered to help post bail, but Cristina was having none of it. Apparently this was something that Meredith and Cristina had discussed hypothetically for years.

As they stood waiting for Meredith, Alex, and Richard, Andrew noticed he was fidgeting quite a bit. The last time he saw Meredith she had told him she loved him through a glass wall, then turned herself in to let him out of this same jail. He knew he'd heard those words, but he wouldn't allow himself to fully believe them until she was back in his arms.

Meredith was the first to emerge when the door finally opened. Andrew took a few steps forward, but was beaten out by Cristina, who held Meredith for what felt like an eternity. It seemed oddly out of character for Meredith to be crying and squealing, but it calmed him to see how excited she was.

When Meredith finally left Cristina and made her way back to Andrew, he pulled her into his arms, silenced her, and kissed her with as much love as he could in the public space. Once they parted Meredith simply rested her head on Andrew's shoulder and he held her close. This whole situation sucked, but he was still so incredibly in awe of the wonder woman that was somehow still his.

Andrew was pulled from his thoughts when Meredith lifted her head back up and turned to the rest of their group.

"You all go ahead. We'll meet you at the car." she told them.

Cristina gave Meredith a look, then moved her gaze to DeLuca.

"Keys." she stated, extending her hand.

DeLuca smiled and pulled Meredith's keys from his pocket. The couple waited quietly until the door had closed behind Dr. Ross, then shared another deep kiss.

"I love you, Meredith." Andrew spoke softly, leaving one of his hands on the back of Meredith's head.

Meredith took a deep breath, during which Andrew let his thoughts start to roam again. Maybe she hadn't really meant it. Maybe she'd only told him she loved him because she didn't know how long it would be until she'd see him again.

"I love you too, Andrew." she finally reassured him.

Andrew's face broke out into the most stupid grin as he pulled the woman he loved back into his arms for one more kiss.

"We should get going." he told Meredith. "_Ma quando finalmente ti metterò da solo, voglio mostrarti quanto mi rendi felice_."

Meredith blushed a little at the implication, plus it was no secret to either of them that she found him even sexier when he spoke in Italian. She took Andrew's hand and walked with him out to her car, where Cristina, Shane, Alex, and Richard were waiting.

"We're back at the old house." Meredith told Cristina after climbing into the middle seat with Andrew.

Andrew was curious about what other house there was, but he didn't ask. He knew that Meredith would give him more details about her life as their relationship progressed.

As they drove, Richard and Cristina chatted away in the front seats about their work while Alex updated Shane on all the Grey Sloan social gossip in the back.

Andrew mostly tuned them out. He hadn't gotten much sleep the last few days and it was all he could do to keep his eyes open. Andrew hadn't even been in jail for a few hours before Meredith had arrived to take his place. He was upset enough with her, but shocked to discover that Alex and Richard had decided to follow suit and turn themselves in. They had a long night ahead of them, so Andrew took advantage of the somewhat relaxed atmosphere of the SUV. He grabbed Meredith's hand and squeezed it gently. Meredith responded by resting her head on Andrew's shoulder. If he hadn't slept he couldn't even imagine what Meredith's night had been like.

Once they arrived back at the house, Cristina swung into full-gear as if it were her own home. It was fascinating for Andrew to watch the unfamiliar woman unlock the door and head straight for the tequila.

"Where are my kids?" Meredith asked, heading towards the stairs.

"I left them with Amelia, so they must be out somewhere." Andrew responded.

Cristina came back with a tray of glasses, each about half full of the golden liquid, and a glass of water for Richard.

"Sit." she commanded.

Andrew scanned the room to see that Richard and Meredith obeyed without question while a somewhat scared expression crossed Alex Karev's face before he took the final spot on the couch.

Andrew took his glass of tequila and slowly shifted over towards the kitchen near Shane, who seemed to feel equally out of place.

"Would you like something other than tequila, Dr. Ross?" Andrew offered.

Shane offered Andrew a smile. "That would be great. Thank you, Dr. DeLuca."

Andrew took his and Shane's glasses into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge. He had a feeling that Alex would have liked one too, but he felt safer keeping his distance from Cristina Yang.

"So you're Dr. Yang's fellow?" he asked curiously.

"In the same sense that you're Dr. Grey's resident." Shane supplied, confirming Andrew's suspicions. "Well, maybe not exactly the same. It's a rather casual situation. You seem to be a past that."

Andrew chuckled as he popped open his beer and took a long swig. "You could say that."

The two men could hear Meredith raising her voice and Andrew invited Shane out onto the porch.

"I love her, but I've learned that sometimes the best thing to do is give her some space."

Shane laughed and settled into a chair. "I could have told you that."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Thank you for the follows/favs/reviews! This chapter was just a quick bit of fluff to show you where DeLuca's head is at. The next chapter will really dive in and take off with what's happening inside. I'm planning to switch around between various perspectives, so be sure to let me know if there's someone you'd like to see featured!

xx Lissa


	3. We Can Work It Out

Alex was trying so hard to pay attention to what Cristina was going on about at the front of the room, but there had been so much happening in the last 48 hours that he was struggling to focus. First Meredith had freaked out because DeLuca was in love with her, then she freaked out even more because that same man had turned himself in for a crime she had committed. Since being Meredith's person was a full-time job these days, he'd barely had time to process his feelings about Jo choosing to check herself into the psych ward when Meredith called and said she needed him to come and stay with her kids so she could leave him too. It had been a fairly easy call to follow suit.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"_Good night Uncle Alex!" Ellis exclaimed with a smile. Alex smiled back and closed the door to the youngest Grey-Shepherd child's room._

_She was far too young to be at all concerned about her mother's absence as long as there was someone else she knew taking care of her. It had been that way her entire life and her Uncle Alex was the closest thing she had to a father. That thought pained Alex, as he had never intended to take Derek's place in the lives of Meredith's children, but ever since he'd gotten the call that Meredith was in the hospital after giving birth he had been even more of her person than Cristina had ever been._

_Alex walked into the kitchen and sat down next to Richard. "Are you sure about this?" he asked the older man._

_Richard nodded. "It's the right thing to do."_

_Alex nodded in agreement. If all three of them turned themselves in it was possible they could lighten Mer's eventual sentence. He and Richard had spoken, and with Jo seeking inpatient treatment and Catherine being involved in their dismissal, they figured they didn't have much to lose if they spent a few nights in jail. No matter who walked through the doors to the Grey-Shepherd house first, they would leave the kids with them and head out to join Meredith at the police station. She had been through so much already in the last few years and out of the three of them she had the most to lose._

"_Alex?" he turned his head at his name being called from the front door to see DeLuca walking in._

"_DeLuca." he said softly. "Can we talk for a minute?"_

_DeLuca nodded and followed Alex into the living room. "I'm guessing you're aware that Meredith came and turned herself in."_

_Alex nodded. "And Richard and I are following suit. She may have acted alone, but we didn't stop her."_

"_I was in that room too." DeLuca responded._

"_DeLuca, you're a resident. It would be much harder for you to dig yourself out of it than it will be for any of the three of us." Alex told him. "I'm not asking you to lie, but I am asking you to give us the space to leave you out of it."_

_DeLuca held eye contact with Alex but didn't say a word. It was almost as if he was challenging him to work harder at convincing him to stay out of it._

"_Look, DeLuca. I know we haven't had the easiest go of it, but Mer really likes you. She may not say it, but it's been a long time since she's trusted anyone the way she trusts you. You're the first man since Derek she's introduced to the kids. I don't know how long it's going to take any of us to get back here, but until then, I need you to take care of them."_

_DeLuca nodded, still silent._

"_Zola is pretty self-sufficient, but when she's difficult she can be won over with ice cream. Bailey is super easy as long you remind him constantly if he needs to be doing something like getting ready to go or cleaning up his toys. Ellis…" Alex paused. He didn't like to admit it, but Ellis was his favorite of Meredith's kids. He tried not to tear up thinking about leaving her with DeLuca, who clearly cared but never asked for this. "Elle is an angel. Read her a bedtime story every night and she'll fall right in love with you. They'll all eat pretty much anything you put in front of them, although Bailey's going through a no-green-food's phase. Zola doesn't need a car seat anymore, but the other two do. They're in Mer's car…" Alex trailed off._

"_I have the car." DeLuca said quietly._

"_Oh good. Okay. Car seats are in the car. If you go on a trip longer than fifteen or twenty minutes you should bring a snack. Goldfish or pretzels are good. They'll also want a snack when they get home from school. Oh shit. Um… school. Amelia and Maggie know about their schedules and can help with that too. I have no idea if either one of them are actually living here right now, so you should probably give them a call. There's also a babysitter. I think her number's on the fridge. Bedtime is at 8, which usually gets stretched to 8:30, or even 9 for Zola because Meredith's soft."_

_Alex paused for a moment and tried to think of if he'd left anything off._

"_I think that's it. The sisters can fill in anything I missed."_

_Alex looked to DeLuca and saw a somewhat glazed look on his eyes._

"_Look man, I know it's a lot, and probably definitely not what you were expecting when you came back here tonight."_

_DeLuca laughed. "Not at all, but it's okay. I get what you're trying to do. I think it's dumb, but if you really believe it'll get Meredith back here sooner then I'm all for it."_

_Alex smiled at DeLuca and pulled out his phone. "I'm also sending you the phone number for Dr. Cristina Yang. Call her and tell her what's going on. She needs to know, and may even be able to help expedite things."_

_Alex walked back upstairs to make sure the kids were all asleep before getting into a waiting cab and driving away._

"_Karev," Richard began after a short while. "Thank you, for taking care of her. For taking care of all of them."_

_Alex just smiled at Richard, expressing everything that needed to be said. He was glad he'd been able to be there for Mer when she needed him most, but he was also glad to see her finally letting another man into her life. Even if she had chosen a resident stupid enough to take the fall for her stupid actions._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Karev!" Cristina snapped. "Are you listening?"

"Yes." Alex muttered. "We're all idiots and should have known better."

Meredith stood up angrily and turned towards Alex.

"You weren't supposed to follow me!" she yelled. "You were supposed to stay here and take care of my children!"

"DeLuca showed up with your damn car, Meredith! I figured between that and all the nights he's spending here you'd already deemed him responsible enough to make sure Zola gets to school in the morning!"

"Well he may be, but we're not there yet!" she yelled back. "And besides, _I'm_ the one who committed insurance fraud. Not you and not you." she turned to yell at Richard before walking away from the couch.

"Meredith, sit!" Cristina raised her voice even louder than Meredith's. Alex sunk even deeper in his own seat as Meredith returned to the one next to him. They both took sips from their glasses, mildly afraid of the woman who had flown across the world to bail them out of jail.

"Listen." Cristina stated, sitting down on top of the coffee table. "What's done is done. All three of you have turned yourselves in and confessed to being a part of this. What we're going to do now is call your lawyers and figure out a game plan. There will be no more yelling, no more blame, and no more hiding anything. Am I understood?"

"Yes." all three of them muttered quietly.

"Good." Cristina said smiling. "Now Shane and I have made arrangements to stay until this little incident at least starts to become resolved. So... who has a guest room?"

Alex and Meredith looked at each other, then both turned to Richard.

"You know, um… Jackson Avery has a very nice guest room. Doesn't he, Dr. Grey?"

Alex spit out the sip of tequila he had just taken and burst out into laughter as a slight blush rose up on Meredith's cheeks.

"Well then. I guess on the way there we'll just have to stop for another drink and catch up." Cristina smirked at Meredith, eager to hear the story of what had happened in Jackson Avery's guest room.


	4. No Reply

_**And we're back! Thanks to Lissa having nothing else to do in quarantine except write, we're coming off of hiatus! To recap: Cristina came from Switzerland to bail our favorite doctors out of jail and as weird and uncertain as everything is, they've been having a pretty good time so far. Everything that happened through the season 15 finale happened. Season 16 never did.**_

* * *

"Jackson, I know you're out in the woods right now, but I really need you to call me back. Cristina's in town for an unexpected visit and looking for a place to stay for a while. We're going to go out and grab dinner, but I need an answer by the end of the night because the frat house is full. Call me."

Meredith hung up her phone and went outside to find Andrew and Shane chatting away like old friends. She stood in the doorway and smiled. If she'd told her resident self that this is what life would be like for her and Cristina as attending surgeons she would have died of laughter.

"Are you guys hungry?" Meredith asked as she approached them.

"Starved!" Shane exclaimed, heading inside to join up with the rest of the group.

Meredith took advantage of the free moment of quiet to bury her head into Andrew's chest and take a few deep breaths. The last few days had been such a rush of emotions that she hadn't been able to fully process most of them. The only thing she did know out of all of this is that she did love Andrew DeLuca, at least just as much as she loved Alex and Cristina, maybe more. This man had taken care of her kids when Alex had dumped them on him and brought her best friend across the world to bail her out of jail. She knew there would be a trial and that she could likely end up right back where she started, but for now she was happy being wrapped up safely in the arms of the man she was falling in love with.

"I love you." she stated as she pulled herself away. Meredith felt the need to reinforce that she did love him without him having to say it first. "And I appreciate you so much."

Andrew smiled and gave Meredith a brief kiss. "I love you too, Mer. As much as this is going to suck, I'm here for you through whatever happens."

Meredith smiled and grabbed Andrew's hand, sharing a few more moments of eye contact and another brief kiss before heading inside.

"Okay, everyone who wants food, get in the car, because I definitely don't have any."

Alex and Cristina laughed as they led the group back out to Meredith's car.

* * *

"Bar." Cristina stated after they'd ordered their food, staring pointedly at Meredith.

Meredith rose and followed Cristina towards the bar. Before they took their seats, the two women exchanged one more tight hug.

"I still can't believe you're here!" Meredith exclaimed. "How did you even…"

"Your intern called me." Cristina stated. "And as much as I like him, I do want some one-on-one time with you. I did not fly here from Switzerland so you two could hook up in between prison visits."

Meredith laughed, told the bartender that they would like two tequilas, and turned back to Cristina. "He's a senior resident, not an intern." she explained. "And I'm glad you like him because he's probably going to be sticking around for a while."

"That's what I heard." Cristina smiled. She looked over to their table and saw that Shane and Andrew were deep in conversation, as if they had known each other for years. "I'm glad he makes you happy, Mer."

"You look happy too, Cristina." Meredith pried. "How're things with _your_ resident?"

"He's my fellow now; and if I'm not careful he'll take my hospital right out from under me." Cristina laughed as she grabbed the glass the bartender had put in front of her and took a long sip.

"Is he still doing other things under you?" Meredith asked, picking up her own glass and glancing over at Shane.

Cristina smirked at the best friend she'd missed so much. "Maybe."

The two women laughed and hugged again, which to the onlookers from their table must have seemed incredibly strange. Neither Meredith nor Cristina were big on hugs, giggles, or squeals, but there was such a positive energy between them as if they were picking up right where they had left off.

They weren't, though. They could try all they wanted to get lost in old times, but the reality would still be there. Derek had died, Meredith had birthed a secret child, Owen had married and then divorced and now had two children, Meredith had won the Harper Avery award and was continuing on as a leader in surgical innovation, and Cristina was busy running one of the world's leading cardiac research centers. They'd had their highs and lows while they were apart, and these past few days didn't fit easily onto the spectrum. As Meredith would always say, any day where nobody dies is a good day, and this week, nobody had died. Except possibly her career.

* * *

"Have you heard from Avery?" Cristina asked as they left the restaurant.

"No." Meredith answered, pulling her phone out to check it again. Just as she was stowing the device back in her pocket, it began to ring.

"Hello?" Meredith answered.

It was Amelia on the other line and she sounded stressed.

"Mer, the kids are fine. But you need to come to the hospital now. It's Maggie and Jackson."

* * *

Meredith left her car parked outside the ER and jogged in. She hadn't listened to much else that Amelia had said other than that she needed to get herself to the hospital ASAP because Maggie and Jackson had been brought in, both injured.

When she entered the busy room, she scanned quickly until she saw Maggie, sitting and crying at the intake desk. Her leg was scraped up pretty badly and her arm was in a sling, but otherwise she seemed to be okay. Meredith slowed to a walk and approached Maggie with a sad smile on her face.

"Maggie?" she asked softly, resting a hand on her sister's shoulder.

Meredith had never asked for a sister - not even one. Now she'd had three, or four if she counted Molly, who was probably still alive and living a happy healthy sunshiney life somewhere, seven if she counted Derek's older sisters that she never spoke to. But she'd never asked for any of them, not a single one. Still, Maggie Pierce had crept into her life and for some reason she'd let her stay and become far more protective than she'd ever thought she could be over another adult.

"Maggie, what's wrong? Where's Jackson." Meredith asked again when she didn't receive a response.

Maggie looked up at Meredith. Her eyes were red from crying and she looked tired. "Trauma 2." was all the younger woman could manage as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Stay with her." Meredith told Andrew, who had followed her in.

She took a sharp breath as she walked to Trauma 2 and opened the door to see Bailey, Owen, Amelia, Link, and Parker all surrounding the body of a sedated Jackson Avery. The room was chaotic and tense as Owen prepared him for a CT.

"Grey, you're not supposed to be here. Get out." Bailey snapped as soon as she noticed her standing in the doorway.

"Bailey." Meredith pleaded. "My sister is in your ER in tears, I get to know why."

"Meredith." Amelia spoke quietly but firmly, stepping away from the crowd of doctors and guiding Meredith back into the ER.

"He has a broken leg and most likely some internal bleeding. We don't know if it's surgical yet but unless there's major neuro trauma I personally will keep you updated." Amelia explained to Meredith. "They just came in, we're taking him up to CT as soon as it's free."

"What happened?" Meredith asked.

"I'm not sure, Maggie's pretty shaken. What I do know is she's never going camping again."

Meredith smiled at Amelia before returning to Maggie. She sat down next to her sister and took her hand. "Maggie, the best doctors in this hospital are in there taking care of him. We're going to go up to the lounge and wait there for Amelia to update us. Okay?"

Maggie stayed silent but nodded at Meredith and followed her and Andrew upstairs to the attendings' lounge. Meredith watched as her sister sat down on the couch and sighed. It had been a hell of a day. Or had it been two or three days? Meredith genuinely had no idea what day of the week it was or even what time it was for that matter. Everything since she'd left her children at home with Alex had been a blur and she was exhausted.

"Mer?" Andrew's voice broke her thoughts. "Come sit down."

Meredith turned to see Andrew on the couch on the other side of the room and walked over to join him. She had almost drifted to sleep in his arms when the door to the lounge opened.

"Mer." Andrew spoke softly in her ear. "Meredith, Parker's here."

Meredith looked up at Dr. Parker who was gesturing for her to join him in the hallway.

"How bad is it?" Meredith asked, shutting the door behind her. "Amelia said she'd update me herself unless there was neuro trauma. How bad is it?"

Dr. Parker handed Meredith his tablet and allowed her to review the scans. She somewhat regretted her time in neuro, because now she knew exactly how bad the hematoma she was looking at was.

"Dr. Shepherd is operating in OR 3. She says you're allowed in the gallery if you'd like, but not Pierce." Dr. Parker told her.

"I have to stay with Maggie." Meredith said softly, looking back towards the door. "Keep me updated?"

Dr. Parker nodded, took his tablet back from Meredith, and headed towards the elevator. Meredith returned to the lounge and made herself comfortable on the couch with Andrew, preparing herself for a long night.

* * *

**_Thanks to everyone who kept reviewing/following this story while it's been on hiatus. You all dragged my Merluca muse out from the back shelf and it is now back full force. I've also got a steamy future-Merluca conference story in the works that I'm thinking this fic's audience will love! Updates may be somewhat slower as I'm now balancing Unconditional with my Merlex & MerDer stories, but I'll try to update at least once every week or two. (Anyone else just ship Meredith with literally anybody that makes her happy?)_**

**_xx Lissa_**


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